In the construction of buildings and structures many techniques and technologies have been developed for increasing accuracy, productivity, efficiency and sustainability.
These techniques and technologies range from pre-fabricated completed structures or sub-assemblies built in factories and assembled on site, to formless and formed cement products and traditional stick and frame construction.
Each of these building techniques and technologies comes with inherent restrictions and limitations in their use. Many of these limitations surround initial cost, cost for changes and transportation costs for delivery.
For example, a pre-fabricated house is built in factory, checked for completion, dissembled, transported and re-assembled on the site. Problems on the site may be extremely difficult and costly to fix. The transportation of building subassemblies often leads to cosmetic and structural damage along with the safety and congestion problems involved in moving the building down roads and freeways.
Techniques and technologies such as structural insulated panels (“SIPS”) have not shown reduction in costs or significant increase in quality and require structural demolition of the SIPS to include water pipes and electrical wiring.
Insulated concrete forms (“ICF”) are expensive due to the high cost of concrete and rebar, and also suffer from high transportation costs and deconstruction of the ICF to include water pipes and electrical wiring.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,491 describes a panel with facings of weather resistant plastic impregnated paper (“PIP”) disposed on opposed outer surfaces of an inner insulating core, such as of plastic foam or an agricultural product such as strawboard. Spaced elongated linear studs are attached to either the outer or inner surface of one or both of the PIP facings and facilitate attachment of a structural facing.
German patent application No. DE19843400404 describes a panel with a frame, sheet-metal profiles and at least one strut connecting two frame sides, as well as a covering located on at least one plane defined by the frame and fastened thereto. The space defined by the frame thickness is filled, at least over part of said frame thickness, with an insulating material, which is preferably composed of a foamed plastic.
Traditional cement forming and steel stud walls have dominated commercial constructions. This is due to the significant costs of forming and cost of cement thus relegating this construction technique to, almost exclusively, commercial applications. Included in these significant costs are considerable design and engineering fees. Complicating this process is the need, primarily due to type of structure being built, that of skyscrapers or multi-floor buildings, to bring all internal wall structures in constant parts resulting in “one piece at a time” wall construction and its inherent high cost and inefficiencies and inaccuracies.
Traditional stick and frame construction, due to lower cost and higher adaptability to the job site, remains the favorite construction method for the vast majority of the construction trades. It has been universally recognized that while the traditional stick and frame construction may not have the same level of quality, durability, efficiency or accuracy as some of the later developed technology such as ICF or SIPS or factory built structures, it does have the greatest adaptability to site conditions and changes.